Career Planning and Goal Development

Career Development Plan

My learning goals arise from personal goals and professional pride, with the aim of developing myself, and others, through my leadership because nurse leaders play a pivotal role in shaping outcomes for healthcare organisations (Cummings et al 2021). I have worked in the same field for over 2 decades and feel a deep sense of accomplishment and legacy already from this. While I have demonstrably grown from here, I recognise I have yet got further to go in my personal and professional development to ensure my learning goals are aligned to the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of nursing leaders and my organisation. With technologically naïve counterparts, and peers, bringing them up to speed will be a direction I seek to work within my leadership culture. I look forward to employing modern teaching methods of simulation, puzzle-solving, change management, networking and transformational mentoring to memorably skill non-specialist nurses and new patients, and inform multidisciplinary staff about the unique area I practice so passionately in. Lartey et al (2023) analysed that ‘the opportunity to motivate others, and leadership self-efficacy,’ are strongly correlated to the aspiration to formal leadership roles. This refers nicely to succession planning, which is precisely where I find my learning goals. To evaluate meeting my goals, I use S.M.A.R.T. criteria (University of California 2016):

1) Specific – the aim; what will I accomplish,

2) Measurable – can the outcome be measured and therefore evaluated?

3) Attainable – can the goal ever really be completed; do I have the resources to achieve it?

4) Realistic – financial feasibility, and

5) Timely – can it be done in a responsible amount of time?

Learning Goals

1. Develop better public speaking skills.

S – Use proven techniques to become better at the task, have less fear of seeming inadequate, be more aspirational and emulatable. Providing education and leading projects, with strong communication skills, are fundamentals of the Clinical Nurse Consultant Grade 3 (NSW Health 2017) role.

M – Evaluation surveys post-lectures provide qualitative information which can be collated and converted to a quantitative view for comparisons. That’s measurable for progress tracking.

A – Public speaking, teaching, and mentoring are expectations of my role therefore I have multiple opportunities for practice and obtaining feedback.

R – Being proficient at public speaking will improve my efficiency and increase interest in my topics making me a more memorable and desirable speaker thus improving learning outcomes to increase patient safety.

T – Multiple opportunities occur during the year to work on my public speaking, specifically within the next 3 months, a realistic timeframe to expect a result.

2. Achieve job satisfaction and succession with resonant and emotionally intelligent transformational leadership.

S – Complete the post-graduate degree Graduate Diploma in Nursing (Leadership in Practice) instead of the original H4F Bachelor of Nursing with Professional Honours (Leadership in Practice) at University of Tasmania (UTAS 2023) due to accidentally choosing the incorrect unit in mid-2021. The purpose of completing this goal was to articulate into H7F Masters of Clinical Nursing (Leadership in Practice) (UTAS 2023) in due course. That is highly desirable in a CNC and practically facilitates the level of required working knowledge.

M – Achievement of graduating this degree will be concrete evidence towards the goal, through being achieved. That’s measurable for progress tracking!

A – It’s attainable. My post-grad is almost completed and will have most of the relevant Masters’ units already done. Complications with continuing study was, and is, the significant clash between family and work commitments. Completing study requirements, for now, and seeking mentorship and using the reinforcements available through my organisation, student services through the university, and peer support, will all increase chances of attaining my goal.

R – Meeting job description criteria, finishing the degree, and being the conduit for nursing interprofessionals, also supports job satisfaction and improves the validity and fruition of succession planning.

T – Albeit part-time through study, and part-time work, much has been achieved by me over the past three years, so the satisfaction of this goal is imminent. Saying that, job satisfaction, and aspiring to resonant, authentic, and emotionally intelligent leadership, remain aspirational personal goals that I hope to work on throughout my career.

Conclusion:

These are imminent and achievable learning goals, measurable in annual Performance and Development Reviews. To develop plans further requires regular reflection to review the learning goals, are they achieved in the right time frame and, if so, are there new goals? What direction do I still see myself moving in, are my learning goals still applicable to that direction? This will foster a culture of inquiry and curiosity to expand implications for future growth of myself and my peers.

Reference List

Clinical Nurse / Midwife Consultants - List Of Domains And Functions, 2017, NSW Government, Accessed 21/08/2023, Available <nsw.gov.au>.

Cummings GG, Lee S, Tate K, Penconek T, Micaroni SPM, Paananen T, Chatterjee GE 2021, The Essentials Of Nursing Leadership: A Systematic Review Of Factors And Educational Interventions Influencing Nursing Leadership, International Journal of Nursing Studies, Vol. 1151, p. 03842.

Lartey, SA, Montgomery, CL, Olson, JK & Cummings, GG 2023, Leadership Self-Efficacy And Nurses' Aspiration To Leadership: An Evolutionary Concept Analysis, International Journal Of Nursing Studies, Vol. 143, p. 104496.

NSW Health 2017, Clinical Nurse / Midwife Consultants - List Of Domains And Functions, Available At <Clinical Nurse / Midwife Consultants - List Of Domains And Functions (nsw.gov.au)>, Accessed 21/08/2023.

University Of California 2016, ‘SMART Goals: A How To Guide’, Performance Appraisal Planning 2016-2017, University Of California, USA, Accessed 20/08/2023.

University Of Tasmania 2023, Courses Available, Accessed 21/08/2023, Available <https://www.utas.edu.au/courses/chm/courses>